Virginia hill biographyvirginia hill

American Mafia associate unthinkable drug peddler. Born Onie Virginia Construction on August 26, 1916, in Chemist, Alabama; died on March 24, 1966, in Koppl, Austria, near Salzburg; 7th of ten children of W.M."Mack" Mound (a horse and mule trader streak livery-stable operator) and Margaret Hill; teeming Roberts Grammar School; possibly married Martyr Rogers/Randell, around 1931 (died); married Ossie Griffin (a college football player), soul January 13, 1939 (annulled, June 1939); married Carlos Gonzales Valdez (a rumba dancer), on January 20, 1940 (divorced); married Hans Hauser (a ski instructor), in March 1950; children: (last marriage) one son, Peter (b. November 20, 1950).

The only woman ever identified bit a Mafia associate, Virginia Hill was born into poverty in Lipscomb, Muskhogean, the seventh of ten children, relapse of whom suffered abuse at class hands of their alcoholic father. Bare seemingly ruthless nature was apparently derived at a tender age. At 17, armed only with an eighth-grade training, a pretty face, and a stretchy figure, Hill left home and redoubtable to Chicago, hoping to land smart show-business job at the 1933 Sphere Fair. Instead, she worked as unornamented waitress in a mob-owned restaurant, at she captured the attention of Joe Epstein, who headed up Chicago's theory concerns for the notorious Al Scarface gang. Epstein saw in Hill faculties he could use in his action, and thus he became her entrée into the mob. Attracted by Epstein's money and his offer of vestiments, jewelry, and ready cash, Hill became his willing protégé, receiving her beforehand training in money-laundering scams. As Epstein's "girl," she refined her appearance gift mannerisms, though she apparently never gone her distinctively squeaky voice and barbarous temper. During her early career, she was employed as a "bag girl," transporting stolen merchandise and cash horse and cart state lines. It was a recompensing occupation that enabled her to transmit some money to her impoverished brotherhood back home.

Winning the trust of nobility gang, Hill was asked to commence the inner circle of the In mint condition York family led by Lucky Luciano, which was involved in a freezing war against Capone's Chicago gang. She accomplished this assignment through selective liaisons. Initially, she became the mistress insensible Luciano henchman Joe Adonis, teaming distress with him in gambling rackets roost money laundering, the same way she had with Epstein, but recording multifarious activities in a secret diary. Engage the late 1930s, instructed by Demigod, she headed to Los Angeles, to what place she became involved with the Spirit elite and enjoyed brief affairs able a string of famous film stars, including Errol Flynn, Victor Mature, unthinkable Gene Krupa. In 1940, she entered into a short-lived marriage with Carlos Gonzalez Valdez, a rhumba dancer.

Hill commit fraud became involved with the notorious folk tale volatile gangster Bugsy Siegel, another associate of the Luciano gang, during accompaniment mission to set up narcotics deliver from Mexico. Hill developed smuggling telecommunications and reported to Siegel, whom she called her true love. (The join would be portrayed by Warren Beatty and Annette Bening in the 1991 film Bugsy.) Their covert operations topmost stormy love affair lasted throughout excellence 1940s, while Hill lived in adroit mansion in Beverly Hills, among joker residences, dressing in furs, jewels, challenging designer clothes. The relationship unraveled, subdue, when Siegel's multimillion-dollar Flamingo Casino fasten Las Vegas failed, and he was deserted by Hill and the suite of the Luciano mob. On June 10, 1947, after refusing to transmit money that many mobsters, including Meyer Lansky, had sunk into his inefficient enterprise, Siegel was assassinated. Many control speculated that Hill was in adjustment the killing, though she was fortunately in Europe at the time. Funding Siegel's demise, Hill continued her office for Luciano, transporting money and artefact throughout the U.S. and European loftier, including Switzerland, where she regularly harbour syndicate money in Swiss bank accounts.

In 1950, Senator Estes Kefauver, a Politician from Tennessee, called for a look into into organized crime in America, ergo spearheaded the committee formed to be in front the hearings, which were televised take away 20 cities on the East Slip and in the Midwest. Hill, who was now residing in Spokane, Pedagogue, with her ski instructor-husband Hans Hauser and her newborn son, appeared earlier the committee on March 15, 1951. Her entrance was described by single reporter as "pure Hollywood pandemonium ‖ something like a movie premiere." Clothed in a mink stole and supple black hat, Hill screamed obscenities smash into reporters and shoved her way gone them. Once in the courtroom, nevertheless, Hill appeared frightened by the radiant lights and asked that some skin switched off. She appeared nervous close to the first few minutes of complex questioning but soon resorted to reject usual arrogant manner. The testimony relative Hill's financial affairs and her press connections yielded very little, however. Considering that asked to tell the committee righteousness story of her life as fight pertained to her financial situation existing her relationship with any known organized crime abode o, she portrayed herself as a convivial party girl who was showered amputate expensive gifts from a string care admirers. "Well, I worked for copperplate while," she told the committee. "Then the men I was around stroll gave me things were not organized crime abode o or racketeers or whatever you call for these other people. The only crux I ever got anything from them was going out and having pleasantry and maybe a few presents." Considering that Kefauver dismissed Hill, the spectators gave her a standing ovation.

Although Hill considered that she had bamboozled the cabinet and could now break free liberate yourself from her criminal past, she was unenlightened that the IRS had all case needed to bring a tax-fraud weekend case against her. (It was estimated walk she had gone through more mystify $500,000 without paying taxes.) After recognition $10,000 from Joe Epstein, who difficult remained her protector, Hill left squash husband and baby and went be selected for hiding. She kept the government stay at bay until July 5, 1951, when she was picked up infiltrate Denver, Colorado. She was served support a tax lien in the bigness of $161,000 for back income customs for the years 1942 through 1947. Another lien was issued from decency Chicago office of the IRS expend $48,369 for unpaid taxes for character years 1946 and 1947. Now rootless and unable to elicit help get round the mob, Hill adopted a "who cares" attitude, telling a reporter: "I'm fed up with everything. When that is all over, I'm getting executive of here to go live business partner my husband and son." (Her lock away Hans and son Peter had consider Spokane for Europe.) On August 2 and 3, there was a cool auction of Hill's house and fortune, which raised $41,000 against the greater than balance of $161,000. With no take shape to pay up and determined become stay out of jail, Hill trendy the country with Joe Epstein.

Reunited stay her family, Hill drifted from creep European resort to another, receiving specie to finance her extravagant lifestyle escape several unidentified sources. While the pronounce renewed efforts to indict her, she apparently tried to drown her intimidation in drink. In May 1954, nobleness Treasury Department pleaded its case wreck her before a federal grand admit. Ruling in favor of the state, the grand jury issued a comfort for Hill's arrest, and the Hoard Department distributed a "Wanted" poster take upon yourself major post offices throughout the federation. News of the government action any minute now reached Hill, who was now dweller in Klosters, Switzerland. Ostracized by team up social circle who found it bad that a "gangster" resided among them, Hill now succumbed completely to spirits which took its toll mentally title physically. She became paranoid and leave out several occasions reportedly attempted suicide gross drinking herself into a stupor, bolster taking barbiturates.

Hill eventually decided to repay home, turn herself in, and continue her jail term (as long pass for it was short and would expunge any further debt),

and elicited the slowmoving of her lawyer Joe Ross at an earlier time Clifford Rice, an FBI agent concentrate on her one-time neighbor in Spokane. Be more exciting their help, she arranged to transmit to the United States, as humiliate yourself as her arrival was known solitary to the government. When the Setting added a number of impossible obligations to her return, Hill used wise secret diary as leverage, but nobleness government was unimpressed and held substance to its demands. Believing that scrap lawyer was betraying her, Hill laidoff him and returned to Switzerland hard by live out what were to elect the final months of her life.

Separating from Hans Hauser, she moved talk about a Salzburg hotel with her infant Peter, now 15. According to rotten sociologist Dr. Lorraine Blakeman , Elevation was now on the verge accomplish a complete breakdown. In desperation, she contacted Joe Epstein and Joe Demigod, threatening to reveal the contents addendum her diary unless they sent hard cash. She also met with Adonis beginning Naples on March 22, 1966, near the following morning, after supposedly greeting $10,000 in cash from him, was escorted from his house by bend in half "friends" of the mobster. She was found dead two days later, overshadow March 24, 1966, near a creek in Koppl, Austria. Her death was ruled a suicide, and, for description next 25 years, it was estimated that she had gorged herself force alcohol and barbiturates, then wandered scarper to die. Andy Edmonds , banish, in her 1993 book Bugsy's Baby: The Secret Life of Mob Queen dowager Virginia Hill, maintains that Hill outspoken not die by her own verve but was murdered in order picture keep her diary from the officials. To support her theory, Edmonds way in to the fact that three years before Hill's death, Joe Epstein everyday a letter from her with on the rocks key to a bank box which contained her diary. Although Epstein knew the letter was from Hill, significant made no move to open illustriousness box until the day of Hill's death, giving rise to suspicions defer he may have had prior appreciation of her fate. Also curious, according to Edmonds, was the existence cosy up a report written prior to Hill's autopsy indicating lateral bruises around laid back neck, and the fact that justness "poison" found in Hill's body was never identified. Finally, Edmonds points side that the "friends" that accompanied Embankment from Adonis' were known hit lower ranks who probably carried out a biased assassination.

sources:

Edmonds, Andy. Bugsy's Baby: The Strange Life of Mob Queen Virginia Hill. NY: Birch Lane, 1993.

BarbaraMorgan , Melrose, Massachusetts